Highlighting a .diff file

Question

Is there a way to highlight the syntax of a diff file (i.e. by using the listings package)?

Answer 1

You can just do this with the listings package, and you won't even need an external pre-processor. listings doesn't come with a diff style but you can define one like this:

\lstdefinelanguage{diff}{
  morecomment=[f][\color{blue}]{@@},     % group identifier
  morecomment=[f][\color{red}]-,         % deleted lines 
  morecomment=[f][\color{green}]+,       % added lines
  morecomment=[f][\color{magenta}]{---}, % Diff header lines (must appear after +,-)
  morecomment=[f][\color{magenta}]{+++},
}

Use it in the usual ways. E.g., \lstinputlisting[language=diff]{myfile.diff}.

Update: Diff viewers often highlight the background of lines, instead of coloring the text. This can be added with the help of Martin Scharrer's lstlinebgrd package, available on CTAN in his lstaddons bundle (or get the latest version from the package homepage)

Answer 2

minted?